Meaningful Opera

In Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin, which is based on the novel in verse of the same name by Aleksandr Pushkin, the title character is bored with life. With no real goals or desires to serve, Onegin is not, in reality, the romantic hero Tatyana presumes him to be based on appearances. He lives his life whimsically, free from all of the careful consideration that accompanies a moral life that is dedicated to some purpose. While living in this manner, Onegin gets swept up with the leaves and ends up doing two things he will later regret: (1) He rejects Tatyana, and (2) He kills his friend Lensky in a duel (Proof once again that idle hands are the devil's tools).

Only when it is too late does Onegin learn what all learn eventually - that there is meaning to life. The meaning that he once did not seek was later measured by his guilt. In the end, Tatyana is genuinely moved by the changed Onegin, but she is now married and remains faithful to her husband.

In opera, the focus is on the story, which is told with both words and music. We care about the characters just as we do in novels and movies. An opera's story is typically very melodramatic, but the music justifies this. That is, the music provides the back story. For example, we do not need any more details of Onegin's life to appreciate the opera Eugene Onegin's story, because the way Onegin sings when he sees the married Tatyana tells us all we need to know about Onegin. Such is the power of music, as composed by a master composer such as Tchaikovsky and as performed by a master performer (such as Dmitri Hvorostovsky).

Opera is a unique way of being told a story.